Point shaving

Point shaving

Point shaving, in organized sports, is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. Unlike other forms of match fixing, sports betting invariably motivates point shaving. A point shaving scheme generally involves a sports gambler and one or more players of the sports team favored to win the game. In exchange for a bribe, the player or players agree to ensure that their team will not "cover the point spread," or win by the required margin. The gambler then wagers against that team.

Basketball is a particularly easy medium for shaving points because of the scoring tempo of the game and the ease by which one player can influence key events. By deliberately missing shots or committing well-timed turnovers or fouls, a corrupt player can covertly ensure that his team fails to cover the point spread, without causing them to lose the game (or to lose so badly that suspicions are aroused). Although the NCAA has adopted a zero tolerance policy with respect to gambling activity by its players, some critics believe it unwittingly encourages point shaving due to its strict rules regarding amateurism, combined with the large amount of money wagered on its games. The NCAA has produced posters warning of this, the most notable being an athlete sitting alone on a bench with his face buried in his hands (although this may also look like the athlete suffered a tremendous defeat) with the caption "DO NOT BET ON IT" with warnings as to what could happen if they are involved in such a plan (as well as an athlete being caught gambling oneself).

Conversely, there have been alleged cases where an underdog not only lost (which might be honest) but lost by some large amount, perhaps to ensure a point spread was covered for the benefit of gamblers although in some cases the motive may be to grant a non-gambling related favor to the victor.

References in popular culture

Season four of the hit CW television series, "One Tree Hill" features incidents of point shaving during several different episodes, focusing on the pressure teens have to win in team sports and the dangerous world of bookie based gambling.

The 2002 movie dramatized the fact-based story of Benny Silman and the 1994 Arizona State point shaving scandal.

The 1974 movie "The Longest Yard" features a main character, Paul Crewe, who is thrown out of the NFL for point shaving.There was also a remake of "The Longest Yard" in 2005 starring Adam Sandler.

The 1994 movie "Blue Chips" features a coach, played by Nick Nolte, who realizes that one of his star players shaved points in a game three years before.

The 1998 movie about City College of New York invovlement in the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal‎ "City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal" [http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,666861,00.html]

In a fifth season episode of "The Sopranos", "Rat Pack", the character Bobby Baccala mentions that he heard that fictional New York mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi invented point shaving during a game between the University of Kentucky and City College of New York. Uncle Junior confirmed the story, saying "Nobody beat the spread. I bought a black Fleetwood."

A 1989 issue of MAD Magazine had a poem / cartoon titled "Ten College Athletes" about how various problems result in the elimination of athletes from college. One such verse was "Six sophomore athletes, on the court with jive. One helped gamblers fix a game... Bet's off, we are down to five." The illustration shows a very tall basketball player with his hand open, and a typical Mafia type gangster handing him a large bankroll of cash.

Episode 6 of the 10th season of The Simpsons features a joke with Kent Brockman talking about point shaving by the Harlem Globetrotters.

External links

* cite paper | author = Gibbs, Jonathan | title = Point Shaving in the NBA: An Economic Analysis of the National Basketball Association's Point Spread Betting Market | publisher = Undergraduate Honors Thesis from the Department of Economics, Stanford University
year = 2007 | url = http://www-econ.stanford.edu/academics/Honors_Theses/Theses_2007/Gibbs2007.pdf
format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-10-27


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • point-shaving — point shav·ing (pointʹshā vĭng) n. The illegal practice of deliberately limiting the number of points scored by one s team in an athletic contest, as in return for a payment from gamblers to ensure winnings. * * * …   Universalium

  • point-shaving — noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1975 an attempt (as by a member of the team favored to win) to influence the final score of a game so that the predicted winner wins by less than the point spread …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • point shaving — Sports. (esp. in basketball) the illegal practice, by one or more bribed players, of deliberately limiting the number of points scored to conform to the desires of corrupt gamblers. * * * …   Universalium

  • point shaving — Sports. (esp. in basketball) the illegal practice, by one or more bribed players, of deliberately limiting the number of points scored to conform to the desires of corrupt gamblers …   Useful english dictionary

  • Boston College basketball point shaving scandal of 1978-79 — The Boston College basketball point shaving scandal of 1978 79 involved a scheme in which underworld figures recruited and bribed some Boston College basketball players to ensure the team would not win by the required margin (not cover the point… …   Wikipedia

  • CCNY Point Shaving Scandal — The CCNY Point Shaving Scandal was one of the first major college basketball point shaving gambling scandals. BackgroundThe scandal involved the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) champion… …   Wikipedia

  • Shaving — This article is about the use of a razor. For the thin strip removed from the surface of a piece of wood by planing, see Plane (tool). For the metalworking process, see Piercing (metalworking)#Shaving. A man shaving his undercheek using a… …   Wikipedia

  • Leg shaving — is the practice of removing leg hair using a razor. It is a very common practice among women in Western countries, and is also done by some men, especially cyclists and swimmers. In addition to shaving the hair off, some individuals may use… …   Wikipedia

  • BEARD AND SHAVING — The characteristic manner in which the beard and hair were shaved, cut, curled, or groomed identified specific peoples in the ancient world. Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian monuments depict the unique way various peoples treated facial hair,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Max Kase — in 1952, after receiving Pulitzer Prize Born July 21, 1897(1897 07 21)[1] New York City, U.S …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”